How does the kangaroo mother take care of three babies with only one pouch?

Answer 1

Baby kangaroos (Joeys) are tiny. As they grow, after they have left the pouch, they spend less and less time there, turning for a drink of milk or in time of danger. By the time it becomes crowded, they spend most of their time on the ground.

Female kangaroos are capable of providing different milk to meet the different growth and nutrition needs of joeys of differing ages.

Another point is that female kangaroos rarely gives birth to more than one joey at a time. The newborn joey only emerges at an opportune time (kangaroos have embryonic diapause, meaning they can suspend the growth of an embryo while it is still in the womb), and this is usually when the other joey is much older. The tiny newborn joey is barely 2cm long, so it takes up almost no space, and by the time it starts to grow significantly, the older joey is spending more and more time out of the pouch. Meanwhile, if there are three, the oldest joey has only been taking milk occasionally, and not actually spending any time in the pouch.

Answer 2

Kangaroos usually nurse only two different aged joeys at a time, but they have been known to have a newborn, a six-month-old (or so) and an older, almost weaned joey occasionally feeding.

It is one of the unique adaptations of some members of the kangaroo family that the female is able to provide exactly the right milk for each joey's requirements.

Answer 3

All three joeys are not in the pouch at the same time, as they are all of different ages, and the mother kangaroo is able to produce milk at four different stages, accoridng to the needs of the young.

Mature female kangaroos tend to spend their lives in a state of constant pregnancy. As an older joey approaches several months old, a new young embryo makes its way to the pouch, where it will attach to a teat and stay there during its development. The mother kangaroo is able to produce different types of milk to suit the joeys' different needs, even though they are suckling at the same time. Meanwhile, an older joey may have been ejected from the pouch, but still return to suckle until it is about eight months old. In times of drought or food shortage, the mother kangaroo will actually suspend the development of the embryo until a better time.